A Canadian Opinion of U.S. Giving

An interesting commentary from the Toronto Star, as written by Anne-Emanuelle Birn:

Americans tend to be self-congratulatory philanthropists.

In spite of the country's stingy foreign aid policy at 0.22 per cent of its gross national income, U.S. overseas development assistance trails that of almost every other industrialized nation, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Americans like to think of themselves as the most generous of peoples. The largesse of the world's top two billionaires (Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) helps Americans feel proud of the country's record, if not through official foreign aid, at least through private donations.